SRINAGAR: The flood fury unleashed more death and
destruction in Jammu and Kashmir, claiming the lives of nearly 150 people so
far and leaving many marooned, even as relief efforts were intensified on
Sunday, with the Prime Minister announcing Rs1000 crore aid for the battered
state.

The swirling waters have damaged buildings and snapped
road and communication links, cutting off many areas. The Army cantonment,
Civil Secretariat and the High Court in Srinagar have also been inundated.

Stepping up the relief efforts, IAF has pressed 29
planes and helicopters into service, set up a disaster monitoring cell and
alerted all its bases to a high state of readiness. 12,500 people have been
rescued from various areas of Jammu by teams of Army and IAF till now with 184
columns (75-100 personnel each) deployed.

But many more people were trapped and Chief Minister
Omar Abdullah assured them that help will reach soon. “This is an unprecedented
situation and we are doing the best we can under the circumstances. Please do
not panic, we will reach you, I promise,” he said.

As the state struggled to deal with the enormity of
the situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the flood situation in
Jammu region and termed it a “national level disaster.”

The Prime Minister shared the pain and anguish of the
people as he was briefed in Jammu and in Srinagar by Omar and senior officials
of the state government about the damage caused by the floods.

“An additional special project assistance of Rs 1,000
crore will be made available by the government to the state for flood relief
and rehabilitation. More assistance would be provided, if required, after a
proper survey of the situation has been made,” the PM said.

Omar said the water level in Jammu was decreasing
slowly. "We will now focus more on relief and rehabilitation. The
situation is slowly going back to normalcy in Jammu while in Kashmir the
situation has become worse. Especially the situation is still bad in Srinagar. “Our
priority is to save people,” he told reporters.

Boats, rescue teams, divers, flood lights and search
lights are being sent from other states, officials said, adding there was also
need for more tents.

A total of twelve AN-32, four IL-76, five C-130J and
two C-17 transport aircraft of the IAF have been pressed into operation to
ferry men and relief material. As the number of shelter-less people is rising,
Army is also providing tented accommodation to hundreds of people.